Sierra Smith sits with her 4-year-old daughter, Aniya, behind Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, left, as they listen during a meeting of clergy and community members, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014, in Florissant, Mo. Nixon says "operational shifts" are ahead for law enforcement in the St. Louis suburb where a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 13: A police officer keeps watch over demonstrators protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, has experienced three days of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 13: Police stand watch as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, is experiencing its fourth day of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

FERGUSON, Mo. — President Barack Obama on Thursday called for an end to the violence here, decrying actions by police and protesters, and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the state highway patrol to take over security from local law enforcement.

Clashes between heavily armed police and furious protesters in Ferguson have come to define the aftermath of a police officer’s fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager. The moves came as federal and state officials scrambled to quell a growing crisis, and as alarm rose across the country over images of a mostly white police force aiming military-style weapons at protesters and using tear gas and rubber bullets in a predominantly African-American community.

Criticism of the police response, already heavy because officials have refused to name the officer involved in the shooting, intensified after two journalists were arrested Wednesday while recharging their phones and working on their articles at a McDonald’s.

The highway patrol official appointed by the governor to take over the response immediately signaled a change in approach.

Capt. Ronald Johnson said he ordered troopers to remove their tear gas masks, and in the early evening he accompanied groups of protesters through city streets, clasping hands, listening to stories and marching alongside them.

“We’re just starting today anew — we’re starting a new partnership today,” said Johnson, who is black and grew up in the area. “We’re going to move forward today, to put yesterday and the day before behind us.”

Nixon, appearing defensive at times as he briefed reporters in St. Louis on Thursday afternoon, did not criticize local police but said of Ferguson, “Lately, it’s looked a little bit more like a war zone, and that’s not acceptable.”

He said he met with residents and listened to concerns. Referring to Michael Brown, the 18-year-old killed by the police in disputed circumstances Saturday, Nixon said: “A young man, a man not much younger than my own sons, lost his life.”

Nixon, a Democrat who was Missouri’s attorney general before being elected governor in 2008, did not describe any specific changes to police practices, uniforms or equipment.

But he said it was time for a “different tone” that balanced the need to prevent looting against the right of residents to assemble and demonstrate.

“Ferguson will not be defined as a community that was torn apart by violence, but will be known as a community that pulled together to overcome it,” Nixon said.

Obama, speaking to reporters at a news conference on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is vacationing, decried attacks on both the police and protesters, and pleaded for “peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson.”

He said he spoke to Nixon before making his statement. He also confirmed that he had instructed the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate the shooting death, “to help determine exactly what happened and to see that justice is done.”

Obama said local officials — who have released few details about the circumstances of the shooting, including the name of the officer who fired the fatal shots — had “a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death.”

And he said the Justice Department was consulting with local officials about appropriate responses to the protests.

“There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting,” he said.

“There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Obama also criticized the detentions of reporters.

“Here in the United States of America,” he said, “police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground.”

Several national officials criticized the decision of the local police in Ferguson to use military-style garb and equipment to respond to the protests.

“At a time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community, I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

Later Thursday, Holder called Brown’s parents and promised an independent investigation into their son’s killing, a Justice Department official said.

Across the political spectrum, elected officials seemed to agree.

“The militarization of the response became more of the problem than any solution,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said in Ferguson. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on Twitter, “This is America, not a war zone.”

And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote an essay for Time in which he called the militarization of the police “an unprecedented expansion of government power.”

“The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action,” Paul said.

Local officials were unapologetic Thursday for their tough response to the protesters, which they said was necessitated by acts of violence and criminality: The police said some protesters had thrown rocks, bottles and even a Molotov cocktail at officers.

“The tactical units will be out there” if the situation warrants it, said Police Chief Thomas Jackson. “If the crowd is being violent and you don’t want to be violent, get out of the crowd.”

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley called on Ferguson residents to “calm down, stand down and be reasonable.”

But St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay struck a slightly different tone, describing himself as “sad and angry.”

“Justice must happen,” Slay said. “The grieving must be comforted. The angry must be heard. The innocent must be protected.”

Local police units were still helping to patrol Ferguson, but under a new command. The changes were obvious. Johnson, walking through the streets Thursday, was approached by Karen Wood, who had been clutching a bright green sign against police brutality.

“Do you have a minute to at least talk to, you know, a parent?” Wood asked.

The captain, a veteran law enforcement officer assigned to oversee security here, stopped. And as sweat stained his blue uniform, he clasped Wood’s right hand and stood, for several minutes, listening to her story.

“Our youth are out here without guidance, without leadership,” Wood told Johnson. “It’s important that they know there is an order.”

When Wood finished, Johnson patted her right shoulder and said softly: “I thank you. I thank you for your passion, and we’re going to get better.”

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